US11474489B1 - Methods and systems for improving building performance - Google Patents

Abstract

A kit includes hand-held sensors that are each configured to measure one or more of the healthy building parameters and a portable device that is configured to capture the measured current values of the one or more of the healthy building parameters that were measured using the hand-held sensors and to determine a healthy building score and one or more recommendations for improving the healthy building score of the building. The portable device is configured to output the healthy building score and the one or more recommendations for improving the healthy building score of the building via a user interface of the portable device.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure pertains to method and systems for improving performance of a building.

BACKGROUND

Building performance relates to how well a building meets certain building performance objectives of a building. These objectives can include, for example, building sustainability objectives, building productivity objectives and healthy building objectives. Building sustainability may related to how well the building meets certain building sustainability criteria such as energy efficiency, water usage efficiency, CO2 emissions, indoor environmental quality, and efficient operation and maintenance practices of the building. Building productivity may relate to how well the building creates a productive environment for the building occupants. Building productivity can be influenced by, for example, temperature, humidity, ventilation, CO levels, air flow, lighting, noise and/or other factors in the building. Healthy building objectives may relate to how well the building creates a healthy environment for the building occupants. Creating a healthy environment for the building occupants can be influenced by temperature, humidity, ventilation rates, filtering, UVC sanitization, cleaning schedules, contactless security checkpoints, occupant behavior such as monitoring and maintaining social distancing, mask compliance, identifying coughing, sneezing, and elevated skin temperature, etc. It is noted that building sustainability, building productivity and healthy building objectives can be competing against one another. For example, elevating the temperature and humidity in a building may increase occupant productivity, but may reduce energy efficiency. In another example, reducing outside air ventilation may increase energy efficiency, but may reduce occupant productivity and occupant health.

In many cases, the facility manager does not or is not able to track the overall performance of their building. In some cases, a particular building may not have the equipment necessary for monitoring and/or improving one or more building performance objectives, and/or the facilities manager may not have the expertise to identify and manage the often complex interrelated and competing nature of various building performance factors. A need remains for ways to determine a building's current performance as well as provide recommendations on how to improve the building's performance.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure pertains to method and systems for improving performance of a building. The present disclosure can be used to determine a building's current performance, including determining a current building sustainability performance, current building productivity performance, a healthy building performance and/or any other performance objective and/or criteria, as well as provide recommendations on how to improve the building's current performance. While healthy building performance is used as a detailed example below, it is contemplated that building sustainability performance, building productivity performance and/or other building performance objectives and/or criteria may be used in a similar manner. It is also contemplated that the recommendations on how to improve a building's current performance may take into account the often complex interrelated and competing nature of various building performance factors, sometimes with input from a facility manager as to the particular needs of the particular building. This may be accomplished by, for example, computing and presenting a building sustainability score, a building productivity score and a healthy building score. In some cases, the facility manager may indicate that building sustainability (e.g. energy usage) should be prioritized over building productivity and healthy building objectives, and thus may be willing to accept a lower building productivity score and a lower healthy building score to achieve a high building sustainability score. In other cases, the facility manager may indicate that healthy building objectives should be prioritized over building sustainability and building productivity during a pandemic, and thus may be willing to accept a lower building sustainability score and a lower building productivity score to achieve a high healthy building score. In some cases, this tradeoff may be time dependent. For example, the facility manager may priorities building sustainability (e.g. energy usage) during unoccupied time periods and building productivity and/or healthy building objectives during occupied time periods. These are just examples.

In one example, a kit may be used for ascertaining a current healthy building performance of a building and determining recommendations for improving the healthy building performance of the building. The healthy building performance may be based upon a plurality of healthy building criteria each defining a desired range for a corresponding healthy building parameter. The illustrative kit includes a plurality of hand-held sensors that are each configured to provide a current value of one or more of the healthy building parameters. The kit also includes a portable device that includes a user interface, a memory and a processor operably coupled to the user interface and to the memory. The processor is configured to generate one or more screens displayable on the user interface that solicit a user to enter information pertaining to healthy building equipment that is currently in use within the building and to generate one or more screens displayable on the user interface instructing the user to employ one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors to measure a current value of one or more of the healthy building parameters. The portable device is configured to capture and store in the memory the measured current values of the one or more of the healthy building parameters that were measured using the one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors. The portable device is configured to determine a healthy building score and one or more recommendations for improving the healthy building score of the building based at least in part on the entered information pertaining to currently installed healthy building equipment, the captured measured current values for each of the one or more of the healthy building parameters that were measured using the one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors, and the plurality of healthy building criteria. The portable device is configured to output the healthy building score and the one or more recommendations for improving the healthy building score of the building via the user interface.

In another example, a system may be used for ascertaining a current healthy building performance of a building and making recommendations for improving the healthy building performance of the building. The healthy building performance may be based upon a plurality of healthy building criteria each defining a desired range for a corresponding healthy building parameter, the building including a plurality of zones. The illustrative system includes a plurality of hand-held sensors that are each configured to provide a measure of a current value for one of the plurality of healthy building criteria. The system also includes a portable device that includes a user interface, a memory and a processor operably coupled to the user interface and to the memory. The processor is configured to generate one or more screens displayable on the user interface in order to solicit a user to enter information pertaining to healthy building equipment that is currently in use within the building and to generate one or more screens displayable on the user interface instructing the user to employ one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors to measure a current value of one or more of the healthy building parameters within each zone of the plurality of zones of the building. The processor is configured to capture and store in the memory the measured current values of the one or more of the healthy building parameters that were measured for each of the plurality of zones using the one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors. The processor is configured to determine a healthy building score for each of the plurality of zones based at least in part on the entered information pertaining to currently installed healthy building equipment, the captured measured current values for each of the one or more of the healthy building parameters that were measured for the corresponding one of the plurality of zones and the plurality of healthy building criteria. The processor is configured to aggregate the healthy building score for each of the plurality of zones to determine an aggregate healthy building score for the building and to display via the user interface a dashboard that provides the aggregated healthy building score for the building.

Another example is a non-transient, computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon. When the instructions are executed by one or more processors of a portable device, the one or more processors are caused to generate one or more screens displayable on a user interface of the portable device in order to solicit a user to enter information pertaining to building equipment that is currently in use within a building and to generate one or more screens displayable on the user interface instructing the user to employ one or more of a plurality of hand-held sensors to measure a current value for one or more of a plurality of building parameters. The one or more processors are caused to capture and store in a memory of the portable device the measured current values for each of the one or more of the plurality of building parameters that were measured using the one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors. The one or more processors are caused to determine a building score and one or more recommendations for improving the building score of the building based at least in part on the entered information pertaining to currently installed building equipment, the captured measured current values for each of the one or more of the plurality of building parameters that were measured using the one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors, and one or more building performance criteria, at least some of which define a desired range for a corresponding one of the plurality of building parameters that were measured using the one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors. The one or more processors are caused to output the building score and the one or more recommendations for improving the building score of the building via the user interface.

The preceding summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the features of the present disclosure and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the disclosure can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as a whole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure may be more completely understood in consideration of the following description of various illustrative embodiments of the disclosure in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an illustrative kit;

FIGS. 2 through 5 are flow diagrams showing illustrative methods that may be carried out using the illustrative kit ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of an illustrative system;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram showing an illustrative method that may be carried out using the illustrative system ofFIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram showing an illustrative method;

FIG. 9 is a table showing how a score may be calculated for various healthy building objectives; and

FIG. 10 through 14 are screen shots displayable using a portable device forming a part of the kit ofFIG. 1 and the system ofFIG. 6.

While the disclosure is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit aspects of the disclosure to the particular illustrative embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

DESCRIPTION

The following description should be read with reference to the drawings wherein like reference numerals indicate like elements. The drawings, which are not necessarily to scale, are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some of the figures, elements not believed necessary to an understanding of relationships among illustrated components may have been omitted for clarity.

All numbers are herein assumed to be modified by the term “about”, unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. The recitation of numerical ranges by endpoints includes all numbers subsumed within that range (e.g., 1 to 5 includes 1, 1.5, 2, 2.75, 3, 3.80, 4, and 5).

As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include the plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. As used in this specification and the appended claims, the term “or” is generally employed in its sense including “and/or” unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

It is noted that references in the specification to “an embodiment”, “some embodiments”, “other embodiments”, etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is contemplated that the feature, structure, or characteristic may be applied to other embodiments whether or not explicitly described unless clearly stated to the contrary.

Building performance relates to how well a building meets certain building performance objectives of a building. These objectives can include, for example, building sustainability objectives, building productivity objectives and healthy building objectives. Building sustainability may related to how well the building meets certain building sustainability criteria such as energy efficiency, water usage efficiency, CO2 emissions, indoor environmental quality, and efficient operation and maintenance practices of the building. Building productivity may relate to how well the building creates a productive environment for the building occupants. Building productivity can be influenced by, for example, temperature, humidity, ventilation, CO levels, air flow, lighting, noise and/or other factors in the building. Healthy building objectives may relate to how well the building creates a healthy environment for the building occupants. Creating a healthy environment for the building occupants can be influenced by temperature, humidity, ventilation rates, filtering, UVC sanitization, cleaning schedules, contactless security checkpoints, occupant behavior such as monitoring and maintaining social distancing, mask compliance, identifying coughing, sneezing, and elevated skin temperature, etc. It is noted that building sustainability, building productivity and healthy building objectives can be competing against one another. For example, elevating the temperature and humidity in a building may increase occupant productivity, but may reduce energy efficiency. In another example, reducing outside air ventilation may increase energy efficiency, but may reduce occupant productivity and occupant health.

The present disclosure can be used to determine a building's current performance, including determining a current building sustainability performance, current building productivity performance, a healthy building performance and/or any other performance objective and/or criteria, as well as provide recommendations on how to improve the building's current performance. The following description uses healthy building performance as a detailed example. However, it should be understood that building sustainability performance, building productivity performance and/or other building performance objectives and/or criteria may be used in a similar manner. It is also contemplated that the recommendations on how to improve a building's current performance may take into account the often complex interrelated and competing nature of various building performance factors, sometimes with input from a facility manager as to the particular needs of the particular building. This may be accomplished by, for example, computing and presenting a building sustainability score, a building productivity score and a healthy building score. In some cases, the facility manager may indicate that building sustainability (e.g. energy usage) should be prioritized over building productivity and healthy building objectives, and thus may be willing to accept a lower building productivity score and a lower healthy building score to achieve a high building sustainability score. In other cases, the facility manager may indicate that healthy building objectives should be prioritized over building sustainability and building productivity during a pandemic, and thus may be willing to accept a lower building sustainability score and a lower building productivity score to achieve a high healthy building score. In some cases, this tradeoff may be time dependent. For example, the facility manager may priorities building sustainability (e.g. energy usage) during unoccupied time periods and building productivity and/or healthy building objectives during occupied time periods. These are just examples.

Facilities often include building automation systems (e.g., heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, surveillance systems, security systems, energy management systems, etc.). Various organizations worldwide (e.g., government organizations, educational organizations, etc.) have provided guidelines on how to operate building automation system to reduce risk of disease transmissions within facilities. Similarly, various organizations worldwide have provided guidelines on how occupants of a facility and monitoring occupancy can reduced risk of disease transmission. Other guidelines relating to facilities and transmission of infectious disease are contemplated and may be adapted and used, depending on the facility. In some cases, a facility may meet one or more healthy building guidelines, but may be lacking with respect to other healthy building guidelines. Facility managers may, for example, wish to find out how to improve their facility's performance with respect to the healthy building guidelines. In some cases, facility managers may, for example, wish to find out how to improve their facility's performance with respect to the building sustainability performance and/or building productivity performance. In some cases, a kit may be used to help the facility manager learn their building's current building performance as well as learning ways that they can improve their building's building performance. This may include adding additional equipment, for example, or changing how they are utilizing building equipment they already have.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of anillustrative kit10. Thekit10 is configured for ascertaining a current healthy building performance of a building and determining recommendations for improving the healthy building performance of the building, the healthy building performance based upon a plurality of healthy building criteria each defining a desired range for a corresponding healthy building parameter. Theillustrative kit10 includes a number of hand-heldsensors12, individually labeled as12a,12b,12c. Each hand-heldsensor12 may be configured to detect a single healthy building parameter. In some cases, one of the hand-heldsensors12 may be configured to detect two, three or more distinct healthy building parameters. Healthy building parameters include but are not limited to indoor air temperature, outdoor air temperature, indoor relative humidity, outdoor relative humidity, particulate matter concentrations, carbon dioxide concentration (can be used as a rough indicator of relative occupancy, since humans exhale carbon dioxide), and volatile organic compound concentration. Each of the hand-heldsensors12 may, for example, represent one or more of a humidity sensor, a temperature sensor, a particulate matter sensor, a carbon dioxide sensor or a volatile organic compound sensor. These are just examples, and other types of sensors are also contemplated. In some cases, the hand-heldsensors12 are distinct from any sensors a particular building may already have.

For example, a Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system within a building may employ a number of temperature sensors and/or humidity sensors that are disposed about the building and that are configured to provide periodic or even continuous signals reporting measured temperatures and/or measured relative humidity values throughout the building. The hand-heldsensors12 may be distinct from these sensors, and may be configured to be able to be used by a person walking around in a building and using the hand-heldsensors12 to take readings of any of a variety of different healthy building parameters throughout the building. The hand-heldsensors12 may be considered as providing a check against the accuracy of any sensors already present and operational within a building and thus may be useful in detecting installed sensors that are not working correctly, or are in need of calibration. The hand-heldsensors12 can be used to measure a variety of healthy building parameters at various points around a building, even in cases where the building itself does not already have sensors that can measure the corresponding healthy building parameters in question.

In the example shown, the hand-heldsensors12 are configured to work in combination with aportable device14. In some instances, theportable device14 may be a tablet or a smart phone. In some cases, theportable device14 may be a purpose-built device. Theportable device14 includes auser interface16, amemory18 and aprocessor20 that is operably coupled to theuser interface16 and to thememory18. Theprocessor20 may be configured to display any of a variety of different screens on theuser interface16. These screens may provide instructions to a user to enter a variety of different information, for example. The user may be instructed to enter healthy building parameter values detected by one or more of the hand-heldsensors12. In some cases, the user may be instructed to facilitate wireless communication between the hand-heldsensors12 and theportable device14 so that theportable device14 can capture the healthy building parameter values obtained by the hand-heldsensors12 directly from the hand-heldsensors12. The user may be instructed to answer a variety of questions pertaining to the equipment currently in operation within the building, for example. The screens may be used to output a current healthy building score in combination with one or more recommendations on how to improve the healthy building score for that building.

Theprocessor20 may be configured to carry out a variety of different steps.FIGS. 2 through 5 are flow diagrams providing a representation of what theprocessor20 is configured to do in order to assist a user of thekit10 in determining a current healthy building score for a particular building as well as one or more recommendations on how to improve the healthy building score for the particular building.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram showing an illustrative set ofsteps22 that provide an example of some of the functionality theprocessor20 is configured to accomplish. In some instances, theprocessor20 is configured to generate one or more screens displayable on theuser interface16 that solicit a user to enter information pertaining to healthy building equipment that is currently in use within the building, as indicated atblock24. Theprocessor20 may be configured to generate one or more screens displayable on theuser interface16 instructing the user to employ one or more of the plurality of hand-heldsensors12 to measure a current value of one or more of the healthy building parameters, as indicated atblock26. Theprocessor20 may be configured to capture and store in the memory the measured current values of the one or more of the healthy building parameters that were measured using the one or more of the plurality of hand-heldsensors12, as indicated atblock28.

In some cases, and as indicated atblock30, theprocessor20 may be configured to determine a healthy building score and one or more recommendations for improving the healthy building score of the building. This may be based at least in part on the entered information pertaining to currently installed healthy building equipment, as indicated atblock30a, the captured measured current values for each of the one or more of the healthy building parameters that were measured using the one or more of the plurality of hand-heldsensors12, as indicated at block30b, and the plurality of healthy building criteria, as indicated atblock30c. The information pertaining to healthy building equipment that is currently in use within the building may include whether the building currently has one or more of a humidity sensor, a humidifier and/or a dehumidifier. The information pertaining to healthy building equipment that is currently in use within the building may include whether the building currently has one or more of an Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) sensor, fresh air ventilation capability, and air filtration capability. Theprocessor20 may be configured to output the healthy building score and the one or more recommendations for improving the healthy building score of the building via the user interface, as indicated atblock32.

In some cases, theprocessor20 may be configured to perform the capturing step (block28) and the determining step (block30) for each zone of a plurality of zones within a building. Theprocessor20 may be configured to determine a healthy building score that represents a compilation of a healthy building score for each zone of the plurality of zones. In some cases, theprocessor20 may be configured to determine the one or more recommendations for improving the healthy building score by aggregating recommendations for improving the healthy building score for each zone of the plurality of zones.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing an illustrative set ofsteps34 that provide an example of some of the functionality theprocessor20 is configured to accomplish. In some instances, theprocessor20 is configured to generate one or more screens displayable on theuser interface16 that solicit a user to enter information pertaining to healthy building equipment that is currently in use within the building, as indicated atblock36. Theprocessor20 may be configured to generate one or more screens displayable on theuser interface16 instructing the user to employ one or more of the plurality of hand-heldsensors12 to measure a current value of one or more of the healthy building parameters, as indicated atblock38. Theprocessor20 may be configured to establish a wireless communication between theportable device14 and each of the one or more hand-heldsensors12, as indicated atblock40. The measured current values may be communicated via the wireless communication from each of the one or more hand-heldsensors12 to theportable device14, as indicated atblock42.

In some cases, and as indicated atblock44, theprocessor20 may be configured to determine a healthy building score and one or more recommendations for improving the healthy building score of the building. This may be based at least in part on the entered information pertaining to currently installed healthy building equipment, the captured measured current values for each of the one or more of the healthy building parameters that were measured using the one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors, and the plurality of healthy building criteria. The information pertaining to healthy building equipment that is currently in use within the building may include whether the building currently has one or more of a humidity sensor, a humidifier and/or a dehumidifier. The information pertaining to healthy building equipment that is currently in use within the building may include whether the building currently has one or more of an Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) sensor, fresh air ventilation capability, and air filtration capability. Theprocessor20 may be configured to output the healthy building score and the one or more recommendations for improving the healthy building score of the building via theuser interface16, as indicated atblock46.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing an illustrative set ofsteps48 that provide an example of some of the functionality theprocessor20 is configured to accomplish. In some instances, theprocessor20 is configured to generate one or more screens displayable on theuser interface16 that solicit a user to enter information pertaining to healthy building equipment that is currently in use within the building, as indicated atblock50. Theprocessor20 may be configured to generate one or more screens displayable on theuser interface16 instructing the user to employ one or more of the plurality of hand-heldsensors12 to measure a current value of one or more of the healthy building parameters, as indicated atblock52. Theprocessor20 may be configured to generate and display one or more screens on theuser interface16 instructing the user to enter the measured current values from each of the one or more hand-heldsensors12, as indicated atblock54. The inputted values may be accepted, as indicated atblock56. Theprocessor20 may be configured to store the inputted values to thememory18, as indicated atblock58.

In some cases, and as indicated at block60, theprocessor20 may be configured to determine a healthy building score and one or more recommendations for improving the healthy building score of the building. This may be based at least in part on the entered information pertaining to currently installed healthy building equipment, the captured measured current values for each of the one or more of the healthy building parameters that were measured using the one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors, and the plurality of healthy building criteria. The information pertaining to healthy building equipment that is currently in use within the building may include whether the building currently has one or more of a humidity sensor, a humidifier and/or a dehumidifier. The information pertaining to healthy building equipment that is currently in use within the building may include whether the building currently has one or more of an Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) sensor, fresh air ventilation capability, and air filtration capability. Theprocessor20 may be configured to output the healthy building score and the one or more recommendations for improving the healthy building score of the building via theuser interface16, as indicated at block62.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram showing an illustrative set ofsteps64 that provide an example of some of the functionality theprocessor20 is configured to accomplish. In some instances, theprocessor20 is configured to generate one or more screens displayable on theuser interface16 that solicit a user to enter information pertaining to healthy building equipment that is currently in use within the building, as indicated atblock66. Theprocessor20 may be configured to generate one or more screens displayable on theuser interface16 instructing the user to employ one or more of the plurality of hand-heldsensors12 to measure a current value of one or more of the healthy building parameters, as indicated atblock68.

Theprocessor20 may be configured to display one or more screens on theuser interface16 soliciting the user to enter information pertaining to an estimate of a current outside air ventilation rate for the building, as indicated atblock70. Theprocessor20 may be configured to display one or more screens on theuser interface16 soliciting the user to enter information regarding occupancy levels, as indicated atblock72. Theprocessor20 may be configured to display one or more screens on theuser interface16 soliciting the user to enter information regarding compliance with a mask standard, as indicated atblock74. Theprocessor20 may be configured to display one or more screens on theuser interface16 soliciting the user to enter information regarding compliance with a body temperature standard, as indicated atblock76. It will be appreciated that in some cases, there may not be a suitable hand-heldsensor12 that is configured to ascertain an air ventilation rate and/or ascertain occupancy levels and/or ascertain compliance with mask standards and/or ascertain compliance with body temperature standards, for example.

In some cases, and as indicated atblock78, theprocessor20 may be configured to determine a healthy building score and one or more recommendations for improving the healthy building score of the building. This may be based at least in part on the entered information pertaining to currently installed healthy building equipment, the captured measured current values for each of the one or more of the healthy building parameters that were measured using the one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors, and the plurality of healthy building criteria. The information pertaining to healthy building equipment that is currently in use within the building may include whether the building currently has one or more of a humidity sensor, a humidifier and/or a dehumidifier. The information pertaining to healthy building equipment that is currently in use within the building may include whether the building currently has one or more of an Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) sensor, fresh air ventilation capability, and air filtration capability. Theprocessor20 may be configured to output the healthy building score and the one or more recommendations for improving the healthy building score of the building via theuser interface16, as indicated atblock80.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of anillustrative system82. It will be appreciated that the components of thesystem82, as will be described, are quite similar to the components of thekit10 described with respect toFIGS. 1 through 5. Particular features described with respect to thekit10 may be considered as applying equally to thesystem82. Particular features described with respect to thesystem82 may be considered as applying equally to thekit10. Thesystem82 is configured for ascertaining a current healthy building performance of a building and determining recommendations for improving the healthy building performance of the building, the healthy building performance based upon a plurality of healthy building criteria each defining a desired range for a corresponding healthy building parameter.

Thesystem82 includes a number of hand-heldsensors84, individually labeled as84a,84b,84c. The hand-heldsensors84 may be considered as being equivalent to the hand-heldsensors12. Each hand-heldsensor84 may be configured to detect a single healthy building parameter. In some cases, one of the hand-heldsensors84 may be configured to detect two, three or more distinct healthy building parameters. Healthy building parameters include but are not limited to indoor air temperature, outdoor air temperature, indoor relative humidity, outdoor relative humidity, particulate matter concentrations, carbon dioxide concentration (can be used as a rough indicator of relative occupancy, since humans exhale carbon dioxide), and volatile organic compound concentration. Each of the hand-heldsensors84 may, for example, represent one or more of a humidity sensor, a temperature sensor, a particulate matter sensor, a carbon dioxide sensor or a volatile organic compound sensor. These are just examples, and other types of sensors are also contemplated. The hand-heldsensors84 are distinct from any sensors a particular building may already have.

For example, a Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system within a building may employ a number of temperature sensors and/or humidity sensors that are disposed about the building and that are configured to provide periodic or even continuous signals reporting measured temperatures and/or measured relative humidity values throughout the building. The hand-heldsensors84 are distinct from these sensors, and are configured to be able to be used by a person walking around in a building and using the hand-heldsensors84 to take readings of any of a variety of different healthy building parameters throughout the building. The hand-heldsensors84 may be considered as providing a check against the accuracy of any sensors already present and operational within a building and thus may be useful in detecting installed sensors that are not working correctly, or are in need of calibration. The hand-heldsensors84 can be used to measure a variety of healthy building parameters at various points around a building, even in cases where the building itself does not already have sensors that can measure the healthy building parameters in question.

The hand-heldsensors84 are configured to work in combination with aportable device86. Theportable device86 may be considered as being similar to theportable device14. In some instances, theportable device86 may be a tablet or a smart phone. In some cases, theportable device86 may be a purpose-built device. Theportable device86 includes auser interface88 with adashboard90, amemory92 and aprocessor94 that is operably coupled to theuser interface88 and to thememory92. Theprocessor94 may be configured to display any of a variety of different screens on theuser interface88. These screens may provide instructions to a user to enter a variety of different information, for example. The user may be instructed to enter healthy building parameter values detected by one or more of the hand-heldsensors84. The user may be instructed to facilitate wireless communication between the hand-heldsensors84 and theportable device86 so that theportable device86 can capture the healthy building parameter values obtained by the hand-heldsensors84 directly from the hand-heldsensors84. The user may be instructed to answer a variety of questions pertaining to the equipment currently in operation within the building, for example. The screens may be used to output a current healthy building score in combination with one or more recommendations on how to improve the healthy building score for that building.

Theprocessor94 may be configured to carry out a variety of different steps.FIG. 7 is a flow diagram providing a representation of what theprocessor94 is configured to do in order to assist a user of thesystem82 in determining a current healthy building score for a particular building as well as one or more recommendations on how to improve the healthy building score for the particular building. Theprocessor94 may be configured to generate one or more screens displayable on theuser interface88 in order to solicit a user to enter information pertaining to healthy building equipment that is currently in use within the building, as indicated atblock96. Theprocessor94 may be configured to generate one or more screens displayable on theuser interface88 instructing the user to employ one or more of the plurality of hand-heldsensors84 to measure a current value of one or more of the healthy building parameters within each zone of the plurality of zones of the building, as indicated atblock98.

Theprocessor94 may be configured to capture and store in thememory92 the measured current values of the one or more of the healthy building parameters that were measured for each of the plurality of zones using the one or more of the plurality of hand-heldsensors84, as indicated atblock100. Theprocessor94 may be configured to determine a healthy building score for each of the plurality of zones, as indicated atblock102. The healthy building score for each of the plurality of zones may be based at least in part on the entered information pertaining to currently installed healthy building equipment, as indicated atblock102a, the captured measured current values for each of the one or more of the healthy building parameters that were measured for the corresponding one of the plurality of zones, as indicated atblock102b, and the plurality of healthy building criteria, as indicated atblock102c.

Theprocessor94 may be configured to aggregate the healthy building score for each of the plurality of zones to determine an aggregate healthy building score for the building, as indicated atblock104. Theprocessor94 may be configured to display via the user interface88 a dashboard (such as the dashboard90) that provides the aggregated healthy building score for the building. In some cases, theprocessor94 may be configured to also display each of the individual healthy building scores for each of the zones. This may aid a user in determining, for example, if the overall healthy building score is skewed by a particular zone that is either substantially underperforming relative to the other zones or is substantially overperforming relative to the other zones.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram showing anillustrative method108 that may be carried out using either thekit10 or thesystem82. One or more screens may be generated that are displayable on a user interface of the portable device in order to solicit a user to enter information pertaining to building equipment that is currently in use within a building, as indicated at block110. One or more screens may be generated that are displayable on the user interface instructing the user to employ one or more of a plurality of hand-held sensors to measure a current value for one or more of a plurality of building parameters, as indicated atblock112. The measured current values for each of the one or more of the plurality of building parameters that were measured using the one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors may be captured and stored in memory, as indicated atblock114. A building score and one or more recommendations for improving the building score of the building may be determined, as indicated atblock116.

The building score and the one or more recommendations may be based at least in part on the entered information pertaining to currently installed building equipment, as indicated atblock116a, the captured measured current values for each of the one or more of the plurality of building parameters that were measured using the one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors, as indicated atblock116band one or more building performance criteria, at least some of which define a desired range for a corresponding one of the plurality of building parameters that were measured using the one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors, as indicated at block116c. The building score and the one or more recommendations for improving the building score of the building may be outputted via the user interface.

In some cases, the building score and one or more recommendations may include a healthy building score and one or more one or more recommendations for improving the healthy building score of the building. The building score and one or more recommendations may include a building productivity score and one or more one or more recommendations for improving the building productivity score of the building. In some cases, the building score and one or more recommendations may include a building sustainability score and one or more one or more recommendations for improving the building sustainability score of the building.

FIG. 9 is a screen shot showing a simple example, in spreadsheet form, of determining a healthy building score that is based on both observations entered using aportable device14,86 as well as current values for particular healthy building parameters that were captured by the hand-heldsensors12,84.FIG. 9 shows ascreen120 that includes aPillar column122 that lists out each the pillars being considered, such as Air Quality, Ventilation, Safety and Security, and Space Treatment. AMeasure column124 lists the particular healthy building parameters being considered for each of the pillars. TheMeasure column124 includes, for each of the plurality of healthy building parameters, both a category describing whether the facility being evaluated is currently monitoring and/or managing that particular healthy building parameter, but also includes a category describing a current value for each healthy building parameter. At least some of the current values are determined using the hand-heldsensors12,84, for example.

APoints column126 lists out the possible points that can be awarded for each of the categories. AReadings column128 provides current values for each of the healthy building parameters. AScore column130 provides an actual score for each of the healthy building parameters. The actual score may be calculated by multiplying the current value as listed in theReadings column128 or a numerical representation thereof by the possible score as listed in thePoints column126. The numerical representation may be the number “1” if the value provided in theReading column128 is a “yes” and may be thenumber 0” if the value provided in theReading column128 is a “no”. The numerical representation may be the number “1” if the current value is within a desired range for that particular healthy building parameter, and may be the number “0” if the current value is not within the desired range for that particular healthy building parameter. In some cases, the numerical representation may be the number “1” if the current value is within a desired range for that particular healthy building parameter, and may be the number “0.5”, or another number less than 1 and greater than 0, if the current value is outside the desired range but is within an acceptable range for that particular healthy building parameter.

APillar Score column132 provides a total score for each of the pillars. APillar Rating column134 provides another representation of the total score for each of the pillars. For example, the total pillar score for the Air Quality pillar is 40/40, as seen in thePillar Score column132, or a total of 5 stars, as seen in thePillar Rating column134. It will be appreciated that each of thecolumns126,128,130,132,134 may be repeated within a spreadsheet for zone of a plurality of zones, if the building has more than one zone. For simplicity,FIG. 9 only shows results for a single zone.

ThePillar column122 references anAir Quality section136, aVentilation section138, a Safety &Security section140 and aSpace Treatment section142. Looking at theAir Quality section136, for example, it can be seen that this particular facility, at the time tested, got 9/9 points for monitoring relative humidity. This can mean that the facility has, at a minimum, a working relative humidity sensor. This may also mean that the facility includes the equipment necessary to actively change or control the relative humidity. Using one of the hand-heldsensors12,84, the facility has a current relative humidity value of 50%. This is within the desired range of 40% to 60% relative humidity, so the facility is awarded 5/5 points for the current relative humidity value. While this may not indicate that the relative humidity within the facility is always within the desired range, the relative humidity within the facility, or within the portion of the facility in which the relative humidity was measured, is currently within the desired range.

Looking at theVentilation section138, it can be seen that the facility being evaluated has only scored 10 points out a possible 24 points, and has a 2 star rating. Looking at the specifics within theMeasure column124, it can be seen that the facility has been awarded 5/5 points for monitoring carbon dioxide levels and has been awarded 5/5 points for having a current carbon dioxide level, as measured using one of the hand-heldsensors12,84, that is within the desired range. However, the facility has been awarded 0/7 points because the facility is not monitoring and/or managing a ventilation rate. Moreover, the facility has been awarded 0/7 points because the determined ventilation rate of 1 air change per hour is below the desired minimum of 2 air changes per hour.

Looking at the Safety &Security section140, the facility being tested has scored fairly well, only losing points for not monitoring crowding incidents in which people do not pay attention to social distancing guidelines. Looking at theSpace Treatment section142, the facility being tested has scored 5/5 points for having installed an Electronic Air Cleaner (EAC) as well as a UV light such as but not limited to a UVC light. The facility gets no points for Surface UVC or for Needle Point Ionization. Altogether, the facility has an overall score of 94 points out of a possible 125 points, and has received a 4 star rating. One recommendation that could improve the healthy building score for this facility, as can be seen, would be to recommend adding the appropriate equipment to monitor and manage appropriate ventilation rates that would yield at least 2 air changes per hour.

An additional recommendation would be to install equipment that would utilize UVC to sterilize surfaces. UV light may produce light that falls within a spectrum of about 100 nanometers (nm) to about 400 nm. This UV light spectrum includes UV-A, which ranges from 315 nm to 400 nm. This UV light spectrum also includes UV-B, which ranges from 280 nm to 315 nm. UV-C, which ranges from 200 nm to 280 nm, is particularly effective for disinfecting. There is also Far-UVC, which ranges from 207 nm to 222 nm and thus is a subset of the UV-C light spectrum. Far-UVC is also particularly effective for disinfecting, and is believed to be safe for human skin and eyes. The UV light spectrum also includes VUV Far-UV, which ranges from 100 nm to 200 nm.

Another recommendation would be to install Needle Point Ionization. Needlepoint bipolar ionization is a commercially available technology that produces a stream of ions that can capture gaseous and particulate contaminants in the air, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and odors. Negative and positive ions are produced when electricity is applied to a tube with two electrodes, and which in turn react with water vapor and oxygen in the air to create free radicals. The free radicals can kill microorganisms and break down odors, improving indoor air quality, for example.

While a healthy building score is used in this example, a similar approach may be used to compute a building sustainability score and/or a building productivity score. This may be useful to present the often complex interrelated and competing nature of various building performance factors of a building. For example, a facility manager may indicate that building sustainability (e.g. energy usage) should be prioritized over building productivity and healthy building objectives, and thus may be willing to accept a lower building productivity score and a lower healthy building score to achieve a high building sustainability score. In other cases, the facility manager may indicate that healthy building objectives should be prioritized over building sustainability and building productivity during a pandemic, and thus may be willing to accept a lower building sustainability score and a lower building productivity score to achieve a high healthy building score. In some cases, this tradeoff may be time dependent. For example, the facility manager may priorities building sustainability (e.g. energy usage) during unoccupied time periods and building productivity and/or healthy building objectives during occupied time periods. These are just examples.

FIGS. 10 through 14 provide screen shots that may be generated when using theportable device14,86 to evaluate a building to ascertain its healthy building performance.FIG. 10 provides ascreen150 that may be displayed by theportable device14,86 when a user is evaluating air quality. Thescreen150 includes abox152 that allows a user to enter a name of a particular zone. Thescreen150 includes a number ofcheck boxes154 that allow a user to indicate which sensors are already in use within the named zone. Thecheck boxes154 include atemperature check box154a, ahumidity check box154b, aCO2 check box154c, an Air Changes check box154d, aTVOC check box154eand a PM2.5check box154f. As indicated, the user has checked thetemperature check box154a, indicating that the named zone includes at least one temperature sensor. Abox156 allows the user to enter a current temperature value as obtained by using an appropriate one of the plurality of hand-heldsensors12,84. In some cases, additional boxes may be displayed in order to allow entry of other healthy building parameters measured by one of the hand-heldsensors12,84, even if the named zone does not currently include an installed sensor of that type. An ADD ZONE button158 allows a user to enter information for an additional zone. ANEXT button160 allows a user to move to a subsequent screen. While not shown, in some cases thescreen150 may include a CANCEL or BACK button that allows the user to move back to a previously displayed screen.

FIG. 11 provides ascreen170 that may be displayed by theportable device14,86 when a user is evaluating safety and security compliance. It will be appreciated that while air quality measurements may take place anywhere within the facility, safety and security compliance may be tied to a particular location, such as an entrance or other access point. Thescreen170 includes abox172 that indicates a particular access point, in this case, the “East Entrance”. Aphoto icon174 allows a user to take a picture of the particular location, should they desire to do so. Thescreen170 includes asection176 that allows a user to specify which of the safety and security compliance categories the facility monitors automatically. Thesection176 includes a Mask andPPE check box176a, an Elevated BodyTemperature check box176b, an OccupancyLevel check box176cand a SocialDistancing check box176d.

As illustrated, the user has checked the Mask andPPE check box176a. Accordingly, thescreen170 includes acounter178 that the user can increment or decrement in order to indicate how many devices are being used to monitor Mask and PPE compliance, acounter180 that the user can increment or decrement in order to indicate how many incidents have been detected in a day (or other suitable time frame), and abox182 in which the user can indicate what technology is being used to monitor Mask and PPE compliance. Thescreen170 includes an AddAccess Point button184 that allows a user to enter information for an additional access point. ANEXT button186 allows a user to move to a subsequent screen. While not shown, in some cases thescreen170 may include a CANCEL or BACK button that allows the user to move back to a previously displayed screen.

FIG. 12 provides ascreen190 that may be displayed by theportable device14,86 when a user is providing information as to how compliance is being monitored. Thescreen190 includes amonitoring section192 that solicits information as to how monitoring is achieved, and includes an Integrated OverviewDashboard check box192a, a Locallycheck box192band a NotMonitored check box192c. In this example, the user has selected the Locally checkbox192b. Thescreen190 also includes anaction section194 that solicits information as to what action is taken when a compliance issue is detected via monitoring. Theaction section194 includes a Fully Automatedcheck box194a, a SemiAutomated check box194band a ManualIntervention check box194c. As shown, the user has selected the ManualIntervention check box194c. Thescreen190 also includes a SUBMITbutton196 that may be used to submit the entered information.

FIG. 13 provides ascreen200 that may be displayed by theportable device14,86, informing the user of the Healthy Building Audit Score for their facility. It will be appreciated that thescreen200 does not reflect the numbers shown in the example illustrated inFIG. 9. In this example, thescreen200 displays anoverall score202 that reads “68” and astar rating204 that reads “2 stars”, indicating that the particular building could certainly improve its performance. Thescreen200 includes asection206 that compares the current performance to the scores needed to achieve a WELL building Standard Silver certification, for example, as well as a comparison to similar buildings. Thescreen200 also includes arecommendations section208 that shows the user particular recommendations to achieve a desired star rating, as selected by the user by moving aslider210. The use can move theslider210 to see recommendations that would allow their facility to achieve, instead of its current 2 star rating, a three star rating, a four star rating or even a five star rating.

FIG. 14 provides ascreen212 that includes anAir Quality section214, a Safety &Security section216 and aMonitoring Services section218. TheAir Quality section214 includes a list of recommended new equipment as well as an indication of where each new piece of equipment should be installed for optimal results. Similarly, the Safety &Security section216 includes a list of recommended new equipment as well as an indication of where each new piece of equipment should be installed for optimal results. TheMonitoring Services section218 provides a list of available monitoring services that could be chosen by the facility in order to improve its performance.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the present disclosure may be manifested in a variety of forms other than the specific embodiments described and contemplated herein. Accordingly, departure in form and detail may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure as described in the appended claims.

Claims (19)

What is claimed is:

1. A kit for ascertaining a current healthy building performance of a building and determining recommendations for improving the healthy building performance of the building, the healthy building performance based upon a plurality of healthy building criteria each defining a desired range for a corresponding healthy building parameter, the kit comprising:

a plurality of hand-held sensors that are each configured to provide a current value of one or more of the healthy building parameters;

a portable device that includes a user interface, a memory and a processor operably coupled to the user interface and to the memory, the processor configured to:

generate one or more screens displayable on the user interface that solicit a user to enter information pertaining to healthy building equipment that is currently in use within the building;

generate one or more screens displayable on the user interface instructing the user to employ one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors to measure a current value of one or more of the healthy building parameters;

capture and store in the memory the measured current values of the one or more of the healthy building parameters that were measured using the one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors, wherein capturing at least one of the measured current values of the one or more of the healthy building parameters includes:

establishing a wireless communication between the portable device and at least one of the plurality of hand-held sensors;

communicating the measured current value from each of the at least one of the plurality of hand-held sensors to the portable device via the established wireless communication;

determine a healthy building score and one or more recommendations for improving the healthy building score of the building based at least in part on:

the entered information pertaining to currently installed healthy building equipment;

the captured measured current values for each of the one or more of the healthy building parameters that were measured using the one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors;

the plurality of healthy building criteria; and

output the healthy building score and the one or more recommendations for improving the healthy building score of the building via the user interface.

2. The kit ofclaim 1, wherein the processor is configured to perform the capturing step and the determining step for each zone of a plurality of zones within the building.

3. The kit ofclaim 2, wherein the processor is configured to determine a healthy building score that represents a compilation of a healthy building score for each zone of the plurality of zones.

4. The kit ofclaim 2, wherein the processor is configured to determine the one or more recommendations for improving the healthy building score by aggregating recommendations for improving the healthy building score for each zone of the plurality of zones.

5. The kit ofclaim 1, wherein capturing the measured current values of the one or more of the healthy building parameters that were measured using the one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors comprises:

generating and displaying one or more screens on the user interface instructing the user to enter the measured current values from at least one of the one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors;

accepting the inputted values; and

storing the inputted values to the memory.

6. The kit ofclaim 1, wherein one of the plurality of hand-held sensors comprises a humidity sensor and/or a temperature sensor.

7. The kit ofclaim 1, wherein one of the plurality of hand-held sensors comprises a particulate matter sensor.

8. The kit ofclaim 1, wherein one of the plurality of hand-held sensors comprises a carbon dioxide sensor.

9. The kit ofclaim 1, wherein one of the plurality of hand-held sensors comprises a volatile organic sensor configured to measure a concentration of volatile organic compounds.

10. The kit ofclaim 1, wherein the processor is configured to display one or more screens on the user interface soliciting the user to enter information pertaining to an estimate of a current outside air ventilation rate for the building.

11. The kit ofclaim 1, wherein the processor is configured to display one or more screens on the user interface soliciting the user to enter information regarding occupancy levels.

12. The kit ofclaim 1, wherein the processor is configured to display one or more screens on the user interface soliciting the user to enter information regarding compliance with a mask standard.

13. The kit ofclaim 1, wherein the processor is configured to display one or more screens on the user interface soliciting the user to enter information regarding compliance with a body temperature standard.

14. The kit ofclaim 1, wherein the information pertaining to healthy building equipment that is currently in use within the building includes whether the building currently has one or more of a humidity sensor, a humidifier and/or a dehumidifier.

15. The kit ofclaim 1, wherein the information pertaining to healthy building equipment that is currently in use within the building includes whether the building currently has one or more of an Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) sensor, fresh air ventilation capability, and air filtration capability.

16. A system for ascertaining a current healthy building performance of a building and making recommendations for improving the healthy building performance of the building, the healthy building performance based upon a plurality of healthy building criteria each defining a desired range for a corresponding healthy building parameter, the building including a plurality of zones, the system comprising:

a plurality of hand-held sensors that are each configured to provide a measure of a current value for one of the plurality of healthy building criteria;

a portable device that includes a user interface, a memory and a processor operably coupled to the user interface and to the memory, the processor configured to:

generate one or more screens displayable on the user interface in order to solicit a user to enter information pertaining to healthy building equipment that is currently in use within the building;

generate one or more screens displayable on the user interface instructing the user to employ one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors to measure a current value of one or more of the healthy building parameters within each zone of the plurality of zones of the building;

capture and store in the memory the measured current values of the one or more of the healthy building parameters that were measured for each of the plurality of zones using the one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors, wherein capturing at least one of the measured current values of the one or more of the healthy building parameters includes:

establishing a wireless communication between the portable device and at least one of the plurality of hand-held sensors;

communicating the measured current value from each of the at least one of the plurality of hand-held sensors to the portable device via the established wireless communication;

determine a healthy building score for each of the plurality of zones based at least in part on:

the entered information pertaining to currently installed healthy building equipment;

the captured measured current values for each of the one or more of the healthy building parameters that were measured for the corresponding one of the plurality of zones;

the plurality of healthy building criteria; and

aggregating the healthy building score for each of the plurality of zones to determine an aggregate healthy building score for the building; and

displaying via the user interface a dashboard that provides the aggregated healthy building score for the building.

17. The system ofclaim 16, wherein the dashboard is configured to display each of the healthy building score for each of the plurality of zones.

18. A non-transient, computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that when executed by one or more processors of a portable device, causes the one or more processors to:

generate one or more screens displayable on a user interface of the portable device in order to solicit a user to enter information pertaining to building equipment that is currently in use within a building;

generate one or more screens displayable on the user interface instructing the user to employ one or more of a plurality of hand-held sensors to measure a current value for one or more of a plurality of building parameters;

capture and store in a memory of the portable device the measured current values for each of the one or more of the plurality of building parameters that were measured using the one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors, wherein capturing at least one of the measured current values of the one or more of the healthy building parameters includes:

establishing a wireless communication between the portable device and at least one of the plurality of hand-held sensors;

communicating the measured current value from each of the at least one of the plurality of hand-held sensors to the portable device via the established wireless communication;

determine a building score and one or more recommendations for improving the building score of the building based at least in part on:

the entered information pertaining to currently installed building equipment;

the captured measured current values for each of the one or more of the plurality of building parameters that were measured using the one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors;

one or more building performance criteria, at least some of which define a desired range for a corresponding one of the plurality of building parameters that were measured using the one or more of the plurality of hand-held sensors; and

output the building score and the one or more recommendations for improving the building score of the building via the user interface.

19. The non-transient, computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 18, wherein the building score and one or more recommendations include one or more of:

a healthy building score and one or more one or more recommendations for improving the healthy building score of the building;

a building productivity score and one or more one or more recommendations for improving the building productivity score of the building; and

a building sustainability score and one or more one or more recommendations for improving the building sustainability score of the building.

Images